The Cold War Lesson Plan 1
1COLD WAR LESSON PLANAccording to some, the Cold War was a rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union in which each side worked to undermine the other as they sought to dominate the world. We call it cold because the rivalry never erupted into direct warfare between these two nuclear-armed countries. But in truth, the Cold War was a global conflict that drew hundreds of countries into a sprawling ideological, economic, and military contest between the world’s first two nuclear superpowers. It reshaped global power, launched humanity into space, demolished the vestiges of European empires, and unleashed weapons of horrifying destructive capacity. The Cold War often got hot.As they complete these three lessons, students will work together to build a timeline of the Cold War and develop a mental framework that will help them explain this complex global conflict and its relationship to decolonization. First, they will encounter an overview of the conflict and step into the shoes of world leaders in a simulation of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Next, they will view the Cold War through the lens of decolonization, as they learn how colonized peoples around the world seized the opportunity presented by the Cold War to break the chains of empire. Finally, they will encounter some primary sources critical to understanding the causes and consequences of the conflict. The lessons conclude by encouraging students to reflect on the surprising human achievements that emerged from the Cold War as they take a page from Jimmy Carter and attempt to explain the conflict to an extraterrestrial in 192 words. OverviewLength: Three lessons. Each lesson should take one or two 50-minute class periods. Learning Objectives• Employ causation and claim-testing skills in a simulation of the Cuban Missile Crisis. • Explain the ways in which the Cold War and decolonization were linked and how they affected each other.• Use the skill of sourcing to understand the causes and consequences of the Cold War.
2Lesson 1: Cold War Crisis! Lesson objective:• Employ causation and claim-testing skills in a simulation of the Cuban Missile CrisisDescription:In this introductory lesson on the Cold War, students explore some of the causes and context of the global conflict stretching from 1945 to 1991. They begin by watching a timeline video that will provide a foundation for the lessons that follow. An article will introduce students to the basic contours of the Cold War. In the next activity, a simulation of a world on the edge of a terrible nuclear catastrophe, they take on the role of world leaders attempting to navigate the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Finally, in the closer activity, students examine a timeline of the Cold War and consider which side was “winning” at a given moment.Opener: Cold War Timeline videoBefore students start exploring the many causes and consequences of this global conflict that lasted 45 years, they need to understand its scope. This short video provides a timeline of sorts, and features some of the most important moments of the Cold War and decolonization. But it’s an incomplete timeline. The lessons that follow will help students fill in some of the blanks. After they’ve watched the video, ask students to try to list as many of the events in the order in which they appeared in the video. Each student should then write three to five sentences explaining what they know about the Cold War and what this video suggests about it.Article: “Cold War: An Overview”While the United States and the Soviet Union had worked together to defeat the Axis powers in World War II, without a common enemy, their alliance soon fell apart. The Cold War was the result of two superpowers—whose visions of world order reflected the competing ideologies of communism and capitalism—in a struggle for supremacy. Europe was divided between a capitalist West and communist East. Across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, the two superpowers fought each other through proxy wars. The conflict ended without a global nuclear war, and the Soviet Union collapsed with relatively little bloodshed. For additional teaching support, including key idea reading questions, click here (log-in required).Activity: Simulation Cold War CrisisIn this activity, students are tasked with trying to understand the causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis, as well as the consequences that might have occurred because of the actions they chose to take to end the crisis. To understand these causes, students have to contextualize what was happening in the world at the time to better understand this crisis. Finally, students use their claim-testing skills by providing claims and counterclaims that support their course of action.View of “Checkpoint Charlie” border crossing.
3Closer: Who is “Winning” the Cold War?In this activity, students will look at a timeline that includes major events from the Cold War. In pairs or small groups, students research events from the timeline to decide whether the US or USSR was “winning” the Cold War at that time. Then, students will post their choice to the large class timeline and explain their reasoning.Additional Materials: • Article:“Devastation of Old Markets”• Data Exploration:Nuclear WeaponsA selection of Lesson 3 materials